Off to Gocek

Off to Gocek
My father and I were up at first light as usual and sat out on the porch until the chef had breakfast ready. It was a big Turkish breakfast and featured a few special items like the chefs own homemade bread and a sweet olive jam. Which was interesting but not as good as the cherry jam. My father and I have fallen in love with the sour cherry juice that is often served with breakfast. It has just the right combination of sweet and tart! Delish.

After breakfast my father brother and walked up the road and though we found the side road that led to the Lycian Way but it was not quite right. We got up a ways to were there was a nature preserve and headed back as we had to be in Gocek at 6pm to turn off the rental van and board out boat. Ur hosts gathered and waited around while we loaded the family circus and they send of in traditional Turkish fashion with a pan of water thrown onto our car as a blessing for a safe journey! I crept back down twisty one lane road to the twisty highway and drove four + hours of very twisty hairpin and rather hair raising two lane mostly coastal highway to Gocek. We stopped for gas at one town and at a restaurant on a cliff over looking the sea for a fresh fish lunch. Then we rolled the rest of the way into Gocek, found the correct marina and moved all our gear on to a Beanneteau 39 named Silver Lightning. I waited around for the rental car guy and after an hour finally called the office in Istanbul and they said he would come to tomorrow and when I said we would be gone tomorrow he hung up on me!

There was a supermarket right there so we did our provisioning for the boat. On the way back I noticed a marina office and the young woman behinf the counter spoke pretty good English and I got her to call the rental car office again and she determined that the guy was here in Gocek and waiting at the next marina! She gave him directions and I asked if I could buy her an ice cream. She said not but she would like a peach ice tea. I went to the store again and all they had were large bottles of mango ice tea so I bought one. She said it was much too big and asked me to share it with her. I accepted and she found two cups and we sat and drank tea and had a great conversation until after a few phone calls back and forth the rentaI guy appeared riding on the back of a moped. I was happy to turn in the rental car as we (in true Loyd fashion) took the long way from Istanbul to Gocek! I was done with driving and ready to do some sailing.

We had dinner at the marina restaurant. very pricey but not too tasty, took showers and headed for the boat and my cabin under the stern starboard side. I up packed my gear, made my bed and dived into it for the night! See you tomorrow as we prepare to go to sea! I was awakened before dawn by a horrible squeaking sound and finally realized that it was our boarding plank squeaking as the boat rolled. I pulled it on board and went back to sleep. A little while later my father got up and put the plank back ashore and went to the bathroom and the squeaking started again. He didn’t realize it until after he got back and moved the plank again but I was already awake for the day.